Ravenstorm's Fall
by ResX
Summary: All Ravenstorm wants to do is purge the sudden death of her mother from his mind, and ThunderClan, seems to be the perfect place for him to do that. However, when he discovers he possesses a supernatural ability and encounters a group of cats with unprecedented power, will Ravenstorm make the ultimate sacrifice to save his Clan, even if it means taking the fall? [HIATUS]
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A small black figure was the only movement anywhere in the piles of rubbish that surrounded the dim, musky air. It maneuvered over overturned and demolished monsters and large shiny sticks that lacerated the dry, lifeless ground with endurance and a certain flair in determination in their step. It knew where it wanted to go.

The sun submerged beneath the horizon as the cat, a tom, picked his way through the wreckage. The stench made him want to gag, but he kept going, stupidly determined to get to his destination. He had a message to send, and he knew to whom he wanted to send it.

At last, he arrived at the place he was trying to get to: a small clearing amid the piles and piles of garbage. In it, he found a she-cat, reasonably sized for her age, curled around two kits, one mottled with cream and bracken-stained fur and the other with intense black fur, as if he had been pulled from a pile of soot.

He picked his way down to the group, making sure he didn't fall. He held his breath until he was besides the small family. He sat down and curled his tail over his paws, waiting for the sign he had been informed to look for.

At last, after a couple of tense moments, he saw a flicker under the she-cat's belly. The black kit, a tom as he saw, had shifted in his position, his legs kicking out behind him and his tiny ears shooting skyward. The tom felt his breath hitch and his nerves prick sharply. He was nervous, no doubt about that, even though he was usually confident in deliverance of messages. But this cat felt...special, something he didn't usually pick up on right away. The aura around him give him a feeling he knew was dangerous when doing these tasks. He was familiar.

Oh yes, familiarity was only something that raised the stakes of his job. He'd rather not have to deal with it at all.

He got his thoughts straight. He had a job to do. Quietly, he leaned down and pressed his muzzle against the top of the kit's head, his breath tickling the kit's ears. The kit stirred, but did not wake, like he had been told.

"Hello, young kit," said the tom quietly, reciting his message to perfection. "Don't be scared. I am not going to harm you. Just to give you a message." His eyes flickered between the she-kit and the other kit, who hadn't moved at all, before continuing, "You have been bestowed with a great power, one you will have to discover as you continue your life. Use it well, and allow it to help the world around you."

The tom felt his heart skip a beat as the kit's head emerged from his body. On his forehead, he saw a long scar-like line, a birthmark from the looks of it. He was breathing hard now, a noise that should have woken up the others. He knew this kit. More than that, he knew he was connected to this kit is a way that should have been impossible.

A protective feeling blossomed in his chest. He knew that he could not let this kit come to harm, even though this would likely not see the likes of him anymore. So, still deep in his nerves, he leaned down back to the kit and whispered one last thing.

"Stay safe, Raven. You may never see me, but I will be with you. Trust me."

He was forbidden to say the name to the recipients of his message, and what he said didn't really make sense in his head, but the urge of speech in his belly was relieved, and that would make the next part of his job less painful.

Sighing, he felt around the shelter where the cats were sleeping and found what he had been told to look for: a sharp pole filled with rust. Slowly, he removed the pole from the roof of the shelter and clamped it in his jaw. _I really am a terrible cat, but he's gonna kill me if I don't do this part._ Closing his eyes hard, he stabbed the pole into the she-cat's flank. The she-cat flinched and squirmed, obviously feeling the pain, but he did not stir from her slumber. Just as he had said. Still refusing to look, the tom drove the pole deeper and sliced a scar across the flank of the she-cat. Blood poured from the wound as it swelled from the cut, but the tom did not treat it.

He had been forbidden from it.

He tossed the pole to the side and spared a look at his work. The cut was bleeding profusely, and even if the blood stopped in time, the inevitable infection from the oxidation of the metal would finish her off. This she-cat would be dead in less than a day.

His job finished, he withdrew from the shelter and clambered back over a pile of rubbish to see a bracken-colored tom waiting patiently for him. Newfound rage pulsed in his body as the two toms went to greet each other.

"You lied to me," growled the black tom, his face contorted into a snarl. The bracken tom nonchalantly shrugged it off, "Funny. You're mad at me for one slip of the tongue yet you broke one of the only rules I told you that you couldn't break."

"Oh, that doesn't matter!" the black tom was walking briskly, keeping pace with the other despite his anger, "You said I would die if this happened! Don't think I forgot what you said." "I never assumed you would," said the other tom with eye contact, "In fact, I knew you would. Think about what you've just done. You know the events that would happen if you did what you did to anyone else, but do you see or feel anything resembling it now?" The black tom thought for a moment but didn't get to answer before the bracken-colored tom continued talking, "Exactly. I told you. With the power you have, everything you do is predetermined. It's one of the first things I told, and I know you haven't forgotten. Now, come. The sooner you return to your Clans, the better."

The black tom didn't make any more effort to argue anymore. He had just thought of something. Something about his power that he was confused he didn't figure out before. Something the other knew he was thinking and would try to stop. But he could not use it now. He knew that. Too many mistakes had forbidden it. But the kit he had visited could do it. Figure it out. Find a way to free him as well as himself.

As they turned left on a sidewalk, the tom prayed that the kit wouldn't make the same mistakes he did. Sure, it seemed hopeless because of the circumstances, but there was a chance. He had figured it out himself, after all.

As the thoughts swam in his head, the two toms turned and walked down an alley. However, though any cat can confirm they went down the alley, no one would ever see them emerge from the other side.

 **Hey everyone!**

 **So this is my very first story using some of my own OC's! I tried to be as broad as I could since it's a prologue, and I've found that writing this is much more fun than I expected initially. I'm really excited to present this story!**

 **And since I still have to figure out final allegiances, I am accepting OC's! feel free to submit them in the review section or PM them to me! I'll be glad to use them!**

 **So yeah! Keep a lookout for the next chapter and, as always, may StarClan be with you!**

 **~Res**


	2. The First Occurance

**Chapter One**

 **[The First Occurance]**

* * *

On a cold leaf-fall day, in a thicket significant to no man, the sun began to rise from his bed below the horizon, beginning the expulsion of the bright stars embellishing the dark blue night. The sun's entrance was nothing short of grand, a chorus of shining light blue ushered on by an entourage of red, yellow, orange and purple melding throughout the early morning sky like tar filling in the cracks and deformities of an aging Thunderpath. The trees glistened in the light of the sun, the early morning dew casting rainbows in all directions in response to the distinctive fanfare the sunrise gave every cloudless day that came upon them, and the grass stood erect as if they were soldiers standing at attention to a general or king they desperately wanted to impress.

On this such day, just beyond a bramble-lined wall, two kits, nothing more but black figures in the eyes of the majestic sun, emerged energetically from their den, one bouncing around excitedly for the fun that this day was going to bring upon them while the second searched the back end of the dens, looking for the one thing that would be their source of entertainment for several hours, a true marvel to the kits' superiors.

At last, the second kit, a tom with bright green eyes and a sleek, jet-black pelt, emerged from the back of a certain den with a ball of moss. Of course, many would feel bewildered as to how this could possibly be this interesting, but that majority were ones who likely had no experience of what it was like to live in a forest. The first kit, a she-kit with bright amber eyes and a ruffled, dark gray pelt, leaped up and down in glee and practically pounced on the other, a sign that the practically insignificant festivities of the day had begun.

"Ah!" said the second kit, his accent unusual and foreign to most others at full speed as he flailed about wildly like a trapped bird, "Get off, you great lump! Don't you know I was about to toss it!"

"But you're so slow, Ravenkit!" mock-whined the first, painting an obviously artificial yet effective moping face as she reached under the other to try and pry the moss-ball from him. "If everyone followed your pace, rats would lose their teeth before they even got a bite to eat!"

"Yes, and you should know," retorted Ravenkit insolently as he tried to push the she-kit off, "because your teeth are as dull and crooked as one!"

"Hey!" said the she-kit playfully, trying even harder to use violence to get the moss-ball from the tom, "At least my face isn't fat like a snap-shroud!"

"Well, my claws aren't as short as hedge-pricks!" quipped Ravenkit back,

"My eyes don't look like muck-holes!"

"I can still call you 'Sedgekit, queen of buckteeth!' Because that's not an invalid thought, you know!"

"Oh yeah? Bushface!

"Ballfang!"

"Flatnose!"

Branchleg!"

These quick quips of insults continued back and forth, getting more and more bizarre as the seconds ticked by. If you couldn't guess by now, the two kits were siblings, and Sedgekit and Ravenkit loved each other dearly. Most of the Clan could see why, too. Arriving weak, hungry and helpless on ThunderClan's doorstep, no trace of any other cats in sight. They were barely over two moons old when they were found, so who knows where they came from, why they left and how they could possibly survive any journey when they could barely talk. There were some naysayers, claiming that this was some sort of obscure setup and the two were in some way dangerous, but many said that there was no possible way someone would be cruel enough, or able, mind you, to use young kits as a ploy to destroy. Maybe it was a gift from StarClan, willing these kits to meet ThunderClan. At least, that was what the ThunderClan leader, Mothstar, believed along with many others. Though some still had their doubts, the kits were taken in and claimed as one of ThunderClan's own.

Some still said many things about the kits, but a Clan consensus would be that the kits were unlike anything they had ever seen before. Their accents were more rugged and inconsistent, their bottomless energy was enough to exasperate all of the mothers and expecting in the nursery, and their vocabulary was very strange indeed, with confounding word combinations that equaled nonsense in the ears of ThunderClan.

That's what made this "game," a face-off of insulting quips and queries, many times amusing to the rest of the Clan. They two would barely bat an ear when someone said "mousebrain," but they would relentlessly insult the others with strange words that no one understood but took amusement in listening to. It was quite the spectacle, and most of the Clan enjoyed watching these two go at it, whether their reaction was a cheek-to-cheek grin, uncontrollable laughter, or just the beginnings of a smirk at the sides of the muzzle.

Whatever it was, this certain round was loud enough to rouse some of the warriors from their sleep, and the angry retorts on the tip of their tongue would fizzle out as they watched this round play out,

"Wasppaw!"

"Feathertongue!"

"Beehive-brain!"

"Alderface!"

Ravenkit slowly inched his paw under the mossball, then proclaimed "Moose-haired, checkered-colored fizzle-face!" victoriously and launched the ball from his paw. The toy soared over Sedgekit's head and landed only a couple mouse-lengths from the Clan wall. Sedgekit whipped back, seeing the mossball before letting out a growl of indignance.

Ravenkit stood up straight. "I win," he said in a very fake snooty voice.

"Ugh," grumbled Sedgekit, proceeding to retrieve the ball. "Fine," she said, "You win, but can you beat this?" With that, she flung the ball as high and as far as she could. Ravenkit yelped and sped after the ball.

"Hey, Flatface!" jeered Sedgekit playfully, "How many shell-walkers beat you in a race today?"

Ravenkit scowled. Shell-walkers were known to be unbelievably slow, after all. "All right," he whispered to himself before thwacking the mossball as hard as he could. The ball sailed over Sedgekit's head, much to her surprise and irritation, and landed just short of the camp wall. Sedgekit grumbled something that he couldn't hear but assumed was offensive before hitting the mossball back as hard as she could.

These exchanges went on for a while, and it was a glorious way to show off the siblings' athleticism and agility. Despite their place of origin being the subject of mass controversy, the copia of their physical skills were impressive to more than a few cats around the Clans. Wherever the mystery place where they came from was, they sure knew how to fight, jump and react well. Who knew how excellent warriors they could possibly be?

But eventually, one had to win the battle, so to speak. And that happened when Sedgekit packed an extra punch with a certain return hit and sent the ball to the middle of the bramble-laced wall. Ravenkit leaped up to knock it down, but screwed up his timing and hit the side of the mossball, sending the toy to a lower corner of the camp boundary as he ran into it, coming back down while holding his paw.

Sedgekit let out a cheer of victory before seeing that her brother was injured and racing over, her eyes filled with concern. The cut wasn't too bad, just a small cut on the pad that produced a few droplets of blood, but the two were still on edge about the injury.

"Sorry, Raven," said Sedgekit timidly, a complete change of character from a couple of moments ago.

Ravenkit licked her sister's ear in an affectionate response. "It's all right," he said, "I'll just go talk to Branchfeather. He'll patch me up in a moment's notice!"

Sedgekit smiled, pressing her muzzle against her brother's shoulder momentarily before departing to the nursery. Meanwhile, Ravenkit limped to the medicine den, holding up his paw to keep the blood pooling on his pad instead of making a trail on the ground.

Quietly, he slipped through the leafy screen. "Branchfeather?" he called, "You awake?"

"Huh...hm?" mumbled the bracken-colored medicine cat, blinking away sleep from his eyes and rousing from his nest, "How early is it?"

"It's just past sunrise, Branchfeather," said Ravenkit respectfully, though he had to hold back a small chuckle as the medicine cat looked around, confused. Though he was many moons away from being called elderly, he was very much not a morning cat, and would prefer to sleep till sunhigh in exchange for all-night service.

"Is that you, Ravenkit?" he mumbled, still dazed from his rousing, "What can I do for you?"

"I, uh…" started Ravenkit, "I cut my paw on the camp wall-"

"-playing mossball," completed Branchfeather, chafing, "How many times have you done that before?"  
"Hey!" retorted Ravenkit, embarrassed, "Last time, Sedgekit shoved me into the wall during tag!" Branchfeather gave an "mhm" before drowsily searching the herb pile for cobwebs and dock. Ravenkit watched as he grabbed a leaf and slowly began to chew it up.

As he got the medical supplies set, the black tom glanced outside and saw that the rest of the camp was beginning to rise from sleep. He saw Jetstorm, the muscular, handsome black tom, stretching to get ready for the dawn patrol he was called for the previous day, Wispsong, the Clan deputy Ravenkit had always been a bit intimidated by, giving herself a wash and calling to the other members of the outgoing patrol, Darkstrike, one of the more quiet ones in the Clan, blinking the sleep from his eyes and moving off to meet the deputy, Greenwhisker, the charismatic one of the bunch, walk quickly to nursery to meet his mate, the freshly expecting Ivywinter, and the warrior apprentices, Amberpaw, Sunpaw and Bushpaw, waking themselves up in their own various ways to get ready for training.

All of them had been there the day he was inducted into ThunderClan. Some forced them under victim of harsh distrust, but all else tried their best to treat him and Sedgekit as if they were normal kits, whether it be by playing with them or not shaming them for whatever heritage the could possibly have.

"Alright," said Branchfeather, spitting out the pulp, "Hold out your paw, and hold still. This will sting a bit."

Ravenkit nodded, then hissed quietly in discomfort as Branchfeather applied the paste to his paw. He pressed the pulp into the wound with his right foreleg, which was amputated because he had lost his paw but was an effective tool for smoothing pastes. He finished smothering it down, wrapped his paw in cobwebs, and gently pressed on it to test the durability.

"Now don't put too much weight on it for now," said the older medicine cat, "Or else it'll break and if it breaks, you won't get to play for the rest of the day." Ravenkit nodded, the thought scaring him into being more cautious pretty suitably.

"Off you go," he said in a friendly tone before turning around and likely going to wake Skypaw, his apprentice.

Ravenkit raced back to Sedgekit, who was talking to Silverkit, the tabby she-cat who was just allowed outside a couple of days, and trying, for the fifth time, to teach her how to play mossball.

From the sounds of things, it wasn't going as planned.

"No! That's not how you play it, you stupid furball!" growled Sedgekit, agitated, "You're supposed to hit the moss-ball as hard as you can so the other team can't hit it!"

"But that's not fair! What if someone misses and they get sad?" said Silverkit, whimpering.

"Ugh! Where's your competitive spirit? That's the point of the game!"

"To make cats sad?!" said Silverkit, mortified at the prospect of inflicting emotional agony upon someone and it being her fault.

"Yes!" snapped Sedgekit, "Wait, no! I mean...ugh!" She verbally gave up, stepping away to take a breath and seeing Ravenkit holding back waves of laughter with minimal success. "You wanna help me out or what?" she said irritably, though the humorousness of the situation was slowly getting to her.

"Nope!" said Ravenkit, grinning from ear to ear, "This is your battle! You finish it!"

Sedgekit's eyes widened in horror. "Please," she pleaded quietly, "I can't do this alone, yet Duskwhisker will skin me alive if she doesn't play with us."

Part of Ravenkit wanted to continue the teasing, but he immediately felt sympathy for her. Duskwhisker was one of the sharpest cats in the entire forest, as well as one of the most scornful to the two siblings. It was true. If she found Silverkit sitting by herself, it would be an excuse for her to send even more mistrust and severe disapproval upon them, which was already bad enough since they lived in the nursery.

Eventually, his heart forced his cunning to raise their white flag, so he gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine," he said, "But only because we live in the same den with that narcissistic toad-tongue."

Sedgekit let out a sigh of relief. "I owe you," she murmured as the two returned to their timid yet optimistic playmate. "Okay, so Raven and I are going to show you an example of how to-"

A large snap made Ravenkit jump suddenly. His fur fluffed out and his claws unsheathed in fear. "Raven?" said Sedgekit in a concerned voice, but her voice seemed far away since he was busy looking over the camp wall in horror.

There was a large tree beginning to slowly topple over, and it was headed right towards them.

"Ravenkit!" hissed Sedgekit in annoyance, "Can you stop? Duskwhisker might be watching!"

Ravenkit was bewildered by this retort. _Does she not notice the big tree falling towards us?!_

A loud groan filled Ravenkit's ears as the tree fell faster and faster, closer and closer, and Ravenkit let out a gasp in horror as he saw the tree was headed right for Sedgekit. Instinct kicked in and Ravenkit leaped straight into his sister's side, knocking her over as the tree came crashing down.

"Ow! What was that for, you slug-headed flatnose?!"

Ravenkit blinked in confusion at Sedgekit's prickly tone. "What do you mean?! I just saved your hide from that falling...tree…"

Ravenkit turned to prove his point but instead froze in shock.

The tree was gone.

"A likely story!" snapped his sister back, "What's your excuse? That you can see the future? Now, are you going to help me or-"

Another big snap. This time, Sedgekit, Silverkit and everyone else looked up in shock.

"Look out!" yowled Branchfeather to everyone near the impact as the tree collapsed and fell down onto the camp wall with a loud crash.

Air blasted in the siblings' faces and bark flew everywhere as Ravenkit and Sedgekit rolled away from the collapsed tree. Chaos filled the camp as the two broke away, both panting in paralyzing shock.

"Ravenkit! Sedgekit!" yowled Skypaw, the medicine cat apprentice, as she raced towards them at full speed, "Are you alright?" Sedgekit didn't say a word, at least, one that was comprehensible, and Ravenkit was finding it harder and harder to breathe.

"You're fine now. Goodness, that tree almost hit you! Here, we'll get you and Ravenkit to Branchfeather and you'll be all set," the she-cat was trying her best to calm the kits as she guided Sedgekit to the medicine den. "Come along Raven-"

Ravenkit heard Skypaw cut herself off as she turned to get him, too. Instead, she only found him staring off into space, his pupils enlarging and his paw slowly moving towards his throat though there was no wound to hold.

Before either of the two could react, Ravenpaw's breath hitched, and he suddenly vomited out a mouthful of blood.

Sedgekit screeched in horror, bolting to her brother's side in an instant. Skypaw gasped before shouting "Branchfeather!" and "Get help!" in no particular order. In a matter of seconds, countless cats surrounded the black kit, the clamor throughout nothing but dull noise to Ravenkit's ears.

His consciousness faded, and as Ravenkit's sights grew blurry, he thought he could hear the faintest of calamities, almost as if he was on the other side of a cavern where a massacre was taking place.

Slowly, the blood-curdling screams of the cats grew fainter, though the kit could hear one voice clearly.

 _"this is your final chance, gorseheart. you and i know it. are you going to waste it like last time?"_

* * *

 **Okay, here we go.**

 **This is my attempt to break my writing curse of absurdly long chapters and lack of deadlines. Once a week updates over the summer, so I guess we'll be seeing how that goes.**

 **Who knows? This may turn out to be a flop and/or unfinished at 5 chapters, or something I'll be really proud of. I guess we'll see, and I hope you'll stick with me for this ride! :)**

 **If you're unfamiliar with my style, I recommend reading "frozen." It's my short story and I'm actually quite proud of it.**

 **And, of course, if there are any glaring issues with my writing you're seeing, or have any questions about the plot, please please _please_ leave a review. Your feedback is the best way for me to improve my writing!**

 **I'll release allegiances when I can, so I'll get to work on that ASAP!**

 **Thanks! StarClan be with you always,**

 **~Res**


	3. Foreseeable Future

**Chapter Two**

 **[Foreseeable Future]**

* * *

Ravenkit was roused by a cacophony of noises.

 _"Who do you think you are, tom?"_

 _"This forest is ours for the taking."_

 _"Next question. How much do you think these claws will hurt?"_

 _"This is the end, you bastard."_

The voices were obviously coming from different cats, but the young tom couldn't figure out who they were. He wanted to get up and call for these cats, but he couldn't move or even talk. All he could do was listen.

 _"You know, I'm going to enjoy watching you burn."_

 _"She's too strong! Kill her!"_

 _"WHY?! HE'S JUST A KIT!"_

 _"There is no peace. There is only time to prepare for the next war, whatever that may be."_

Ravenkit felt pain around him, but he couldn't tell where or how. Just drowning in a sea of the agony of cats, seemingly both himself and millions of others. However that worked.

 _"You know what to do."_

 _"You have one purpose. Defy it, and you're just like everyone else in this damn forest."_

 _"How badly do you want me to prove who worthless you are?"_

 _"Get up, brother. Get up."_

More voices. But this time, there was something familiar about some of them that he couldn't quite place.

But then, one voice rang out in whatever chasm of space he was drifting through. The voice was so poignant that it was impossible for Ravenkit to ignore, even if he wanted to.

 ** _"THIS IS FOR THUNDERCLAN!"_**

The words seemed to echo, and the dysfunctional choir of voices ceased, subdued by the one outcry of a life's worth of pain and rage.

Ravenkit heard the words over and over again, the coarseness of fury, the dreadful abundance of grief playing over and over again in his head. He felt shivers, ice prickling down his spines. The outcry made him feel cold.

And as if he had commanded it, he realized that there lay a cold surface underneath his back and all around his right side. After a couple of moments, he blinked open his eyes to blinding light, and his pupils had to adjust for a moment to the contrast in light shining itself over the groggy state of his body.

He was able to get enough energy to shift his head, lifting it slowly and looking around the blurry den that surrounded his nest. After a couple of moments of blinking to get the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed a bracken-colored cat sleeping restlessly only a mouse-length away from him.

"Branchfeather?" he rasped, realizing how weak his voice sounded.

"Mm...what did you cut your paw on this time, Ravenkit?" he mumbled drowsily before his head jolted up in shock. "Ravenkit?!" he said, stumbling out of his nest and standing next to him.

"What happened?" the kit asked quietly as the medicine cat licked him all over, trying to keep him warm, he assumed. Branchfeather ignored the question, calling for Skypaw and breaking away to search in his herb pile for items Ravenkit knew nothing about.

"Get Mothstar and Sedgekit. He's awake," ordered the older tom as he mumbled to himself the herbs he needed while pulling them out. The apprentice raced out of the den and moments later, Sedgekit raced through the vine barrier and covered Ravenkit in her licks. He was a little surprised by her sudden reaction, but he didn't object nonetheless.

"Don't scare me like that, Raven," whispered the she-kit, her voice shaking through her purrs of relief. Poor Ravenkit was still very confused about why everyone was so pent up about this. Surely he had just fallen asleep? Maybe it had something to do with how he couldn't remember events from yesterday clearly. But to comfort the distress his sister was in, he pressed his muzzle against her chest gently, which worked to calm her down to some degree.

Moments later, the tom-kit heard a rustle from the entrance to the den as Skypaw re-entered with a tag-along. Ravenkit looked up and felt spikes of surprise stab his spine when he saw Mothstar, the young, muscular and powerful tom Ravenkit was told to call his leader, following the apprentice to confer with Branchfeather.

"How is he?" he said in a hushed yet stressed tone.

"No signs of fever or illness so far," said the medicine cat, who continued to search his herbs. "He may have fainted from shock?" He pulled a couple of stalks of a leafy green herb from his stash.

"That has to be it," said Mothstar, his eyes looking over at the young siblings with sympathy and disappointment. "Under normal circumstances, I would be relieved, and don't get me wrong, I most certainly am." He looked back at the medicine cat after a couple of beats. "But for the sake of his safety, we'll have to withdraw him from tomorrow's ceremony."

"Understood," said the medicine cat softly while the two kits' jaws dropped in horror.

"WHAT?!" squealed Sedgekit, disregarding the authority of the cat she was complaining to, "NO! You can't do this! You can't just take away his right to be a warrior because he got sick once!"

Ravenkit was confused. "But I thought the ceremony wasn't or another three days! Surely I'll get better enough by then!"

The medicine den was eerily silent and dread began to blossom in Ravenkit's belly even before Branchfeather even spoke.

"Ravenkit," he said, "The ceremony is tomorrow."

Ravenkit was silent. "W-What?" he said after a moment, "You...moved it?"

"No no no," said the medicine cat, defending his leader, "You've been unconscious for two days."

The tom-kit tried to find words for a good fifteen seconds but eventually gave up, slumping back down in his nest with his head propped miserably on his front paws. Tears of unforeseen emotion pooled at the corners of his eyes as he sat in silence.

"Look at it this way," said the leader gently, brushing his tail on the top of Ravenkit's head, "If you died in these last two days, you would be in StarClan. Then, you would have no chance to be a warrior. But you're alive, so I think it's best that you're in prime condition so you can start training right away. Right?"

Ravenkit looked up, likely to agree with Mothstar, before the sight he saw caused any words he planned to say to fizzle on the tip of his tongue.

He saw Mothstar, but he seemed older, more rugged and ruffled than a couple of minutes ago

Suddenly, he let out a yowl of shock as the flesh around his throat area was cut open by itself, and his head slumped back as he slowly decayed into dust.

Ravenkit looked around wildly and saw Branchfeather, but as he tried to call out to him, his face grimaced in intense pain as an unseen force beat him over the side of the head and he began to decay into dust as well.

 _No...What's going on?_ He thought as he stumbled from his nest, watching the den slowly collapse from some unseen power, the branches being ripped apart and left to rot, the herbs being either blown away or shriveling in some chilly air the innocent tom could not feel. He grasped for his sister and pressed his muzzle into her chest in terror, expecting comfort from her.

But when Sedgekit didn't move, Ravenkit looked up to see a long scar stretching from her chest to over her right eye. Slowly, she began to fade into dust as well, clutching her chest wordlessly.

Ravenkit screeched in horror, grasping for the remains of her sister as they broke away into nothingness.

He was alone.

Letting his emotions build to the brink, the kit let out a long, grief-riddled yowl of terror.

"RAVENKIT!"

Branchfeather's sudden cry caused everything to freeze. When he blinked, he was back in the medicine den, completely unharmed, and surrounded by the three cats he just watched decay into dust.

"Ravenkit! Can you hear me?" shouted the medicine cat, whose amputated leg was pressed against his chest. After blinking for several seconds, he nodded vigorously.

All three cats visibly relaxed. "Can you two step out?" he said quickly and quietly, "Overstimulation may trigger what just happened once again." Mothstar nodded. "Come along, Sedgekit," he said tightly to the she-kit, who looked shaken to the core by whatever she just witnessed.

After the two left, Branchfeather rushed to his herb pile, spreading them out to find whatever he needed for Ravenkit. "Ravenkit, do you remember seeing anything strange? That can sometimes happen when you fall into a seizure."

Ravenkit put the daunting realizations of his medical mishaps aside for a future freakout. "Yeah! I saw Mothstar, but he was older! Like, as old as an elder, I think! Then, he got this huge scar! Over his throat! And then his head rolled back, then bam! He disappeared into dust. And then I looked for you for help, but you were getting your skull beaten in by something! No cat was there, it was just happening by itself and then you faded into dust too! And then," Ravenkit cut himself off when he saw Branchfeather holding herbs in front of his muzzle. "What are these?" he said, the worry heightening his concerns to an illogical level, "Do they taste bad?"

There was a moment of silence before Branchfeather spoke.

"Ravenkit, I'm not giving you herbs yet."

Ravenkit blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? You're standing right here-"

"Ravenkit, I'm over here."

Ravenkit looked around again and saw Branchfeather standing by his hindquarters, his eyes filled with shock and confusion. Neither of them spoke a word, Ravenkit packing on more scary confusion to an emotional day unhealthy to any kit in general and Branchfeather squinting his eyelids as he pondered what could possibly be happening to this poor little kit.

The medicine cat broke the silence. "There's no way," he muttered before locking his eyes with Ravenkit's. "Ravenkit, what did the herbs look like?"

"Uhh," said the kit, still very unsettled, "A leafy green stalk thingy and some strange-looking black seeds."

"Thyme and poppy seeds," said Branchfeather in wonder, "I was going to give you that when you finished your story."

"Branchfeather, what's going on?" said the kit.

Terrified fascination flashed through Branchfeather's eyes as he seemed to be holding a short debate with himself as to what to say. After a couple of moments, he had his answer.

"Ravenkit, you just saw the future."

* * *

 **Word Count: 1,742 (!)**

 **GUYS LOOK I MADE A SHORT CHAPTER THAT CONVEYS PLOT-RELEVANT INFORMATION IN LESS THAN A WEEK**

 **So what do y'all think of the power choice? I tried to make it a bit different then how others executed it, and quite honestly, I don't know how well that worked. I'm still working out the kinks and limitations, but I think it'll be pretty cool.**

 **And if you're already confused, first of all, sorry! Please leave a review about it if I'm leaving behind any plotholes right out of the gates.**

 **Second of all, brace yourself, because it's about to get a whole lot more confusing.**

 **Trust me.**

 **StarClan always,**

 **~Res**


	4. Sensory Overload

**Chapter 3**

 **Sensory Overload**

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey meet under the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

"You want to watch?" asked Branchfeather gently to Ravenkit, who was slumped in his nest, staring at nothing. When he didn't move, the medicine cat sighed. "Come on, it's the least you can do for your sister."

"What does it matter?" muttered Ravenkit miserably, "I'm never going to become an apprentice anyway."

For the seventh time, Branchfeather sighed and sat next to him. "Weren't you listening to Mothstar?" he said, "We're just delaying it until you get better. We don't want you to get any of the other apprentices sick and we want you to hit the ground running, so it's best to be at full health."

"But what about my power thingy?" he said sullenly, "I never asked for this power! Now everyone will think I'm weird."

Outside, the ThunderClan leader looked down on the kits, the four that had come of age, with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "The time has come at last to appoint new apprentices," he said.

It took Branchfeather a couple more moments to respond to him then. "Listen," he began, "I'm new to this power thing as well. You're the first cat to gain this kind of power in some time close to ever. Until we figure this out, no one will know, okay? This is just between you and me."

"But they'll know eventually, won't they?" whimpered the tom-kit in misery, "Someone will find out, then they'll tell everyone else, and then all of the Clans will know and think I'm weird, and then they'll drive me out, and then they'll drive Sedgekit out, and then we'll have to-"

"Stop," said Branchfeather more sternly, hitting Ravenkit's chest with his tail gently, "None of that will happen, okay? I promise on my life no one will know until we are ready."

Ravenkit's eyes brightened momentarily before looking away as his doubts caught up with him. "What's the point of a promise like that if you can't keep it by yourself?"

To that, Branchfeather had no answer.

"Sedgekit, please step forward!" called Mothstar, his voice resounding through the medicine den. Despite his mood not being the best, so to speak, Ravenkit pricked his ears and moved slowly to the entrance of the den, sitting down when he saw his sister clamber up the Great Rock and stand next to Mothstar.

"Sedgekit," said the leader calmly and smoothly, "you have now reached the age of six moons old, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." He paused. "When we encountered you in our territory those many moons ago, your future was unknown to all of us. Despite what others might say, you and your brother," he gestured ever so slightly where her brother was sitting in the medicine den, "have now proven tenfold your loyalty to this Clan and the charisma and energy to pursue this life."

Sedgekit turned to look right at Ravenkit, just as surprised as he was. Neither of them were expecting a speech.

"So, Sedgekit, is it your will to leave any past life of roaming the outside world behind and begin pursuing the full life of a warrior?"

Sedgekit took a moment to look up at Mothstar, and for a moment Ravenkit feared she was going to decline until she looked right back at him, her face now sporting a large grin and a distinct lack of uncertainty.

"It is," she said confidently.

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, until you receive your warrior name, you shall now be known as Sedgepaw. In your training, may StarClan grant you fruitful wisdom, integrity, and honor as you pursue the life of a warrior."

From around the clearing, warriors who Ravenkit wasn't able to see began to call the name "Sedgepaw" to the stars, the proclamations soon passing to most of the warriors in the Clan. Ravenkit was able to make out a few stragglers, Duskwhisker being one of them, staying silent and instead casting looks of suspicion and disapproval on the two kits.

As Mothstar appointed Greenwhisker as Sedgepaw's mentor, Ravenkit glanced to the nursery to see Silverkit and her siblings, Leopardkit and Darkkit, watching the ceremony. For a moment, Silverkit caught Ravenkit's eye, and she flashed a smile, likely of sympathy given the recent events. Ravenkit almost smiled back, but when she heard a hiss from Duskwhisker, he looked away, slinking back into the medicine den.

"Just ignore her," said Branchfeather, "She's always been a tough one to crack."

Ravenkit hoped that was the case, but figured that she just outright hated him. She wouldn't be the first one, after all.

He watched Moonbeam's kits, Lunarkit, Duskkit, and Sunsetkit, be made apprentices under the same procedure, sans the little speech at the end. Jetstorm, Mothflutter, and Darkstrike were assigned as their mentors respectively.

And that was that. The meeting was dismissed and everyone returned to their normal duties. The three freshly-apprenticed siblings raced to the apprentice den with Amberpaw and Dawnpaw, Greenwhisker freaked out on how ill-prepared he was for mentorship to Jetstorm, which he promptly laughed off and told him to take a few deep breaths, and Mothstar dismounted the rock to help Wispsong assign evening patrols.

Though he wasn't sick anymore, Ravenkit felt bile build in his body. He felt so left out, so alone now, and since SedgekitーSedgepawーwas going to be out of camp for most of most days, no one that he could trust would be able to truly understand and comfort him, especially with the recent revelation of his apparent abilities.

After about three minutes of staring outside in despondence, Ravenkit sighed, picked himself up, and slunk to the corner of the den, curling up by himself. Branchfeather continued to count his herbs, either not noticing that the kit moved or deliberately ignoring him to give him some space and time alone.

Ravenkit didn't know how much time had passed, but at some point, Sedgepaw pranced into the medicine den. She was in much higher spirits than her brother, but when she prepared to meet him, her tone changed the moment she saw him curled up in the corner.

"What's with the sour face, sourpuss?" Sedgepaw joked half-heartedly. No one needed a medicine cat to realize Ravenkit was in a bad place, and a joke had low-stooping odds of doing anything.

Ravenkit didn't move until Sedgepaw prodded him four times with her right paw, to which he pushed her away from him with a bit more force than he intended.

"Hey," she said, pulling him away from the corner so he was forced to look her in the stern eyes. "You can't possibly be this wrapped up about having to wait a few days to become an apprentice. What's this about?"

"That's what I _am_ upset about, you idiot!" he snapped.

Sedgepaw didn't respond, instead drilling a look a knowledge that he was lying right into his eyes. This only aggravated Ravenkit even more.

"You can go and curse me out all you want, but I'm not leaving until you tell me what else is wrong," said Sedgekit evenly, not batting an eye when her brother's eyes filled with anger.

"I miss mom!" he shouted suddenly.

Silence.

Sedgepaw was caught harshly off-guard by this answer. Ravenkit was surprised as well. Not by what he just said, but by how true what he just said was.

It was true. He missed his mother. Even more now than ever.

They had been a happy family of four when the two siblings were born, being blessed with a loyal father and a caring mother with a heart of gold. Ravenkit didn't remember much about then, but he always remembered the way he felt like they were swimming in a bottomless pool of happiness whenever they were together as a family.

But they had lived in an abandoned Twoleg den for the first couple weeks or so, and it wasn't long before the Twolegs returned to knock down its walls for good. Ravenkit vividly remembered how the ground trembled, waking all of them up on that fateful night. He remembered his father demanding his mate to "Get the kits!" and "Save the kits!" He remembered being raced down alongside his sister out of the collapsing den he had called home for the entirety of his fledgling life. He remembered being dropped off beneath a line of hedges and his mother turning back to help save her mate.

He remembered her wails of grief splitting the air when she found out she was too late.

Three days after, they were on the move. His mother's fearful face was slowly etched permanently into his traumatized mind as they moved from one place to another over and over again. She always told them it was to keep them safe and she was right, though she omitted the part where she also believed the Twolegs would return and tear down wherever they were if they stayed in one place for too long, no matter where in the world that might be.

It looked like that would be their plan for the rest of their lives, until a moon and a half later, when the siblings woke up to find that their mother was dead.

They had been staying in a junkyard for the night, and everything seemed to be going normally. His mother had found two rather plump rats, and they had full stomachs, and she feigned a smile as the two siblings played outside the small, stinky cave they were staying in for the night.

In other words, a day in the life.

But some time at night, a pole at the top of the cave must have come loose, because when the siblings woke up the following morning, they saw their mother, ice-cold and caked in blood. A bloody, rusty pole was at her side.

The rest was a blur of crying and running and trying in vain to forget. What was the point of trying to remember how the hell they got here?

Even now, as the two stared at each other, tears welling in their eyes after being dragged by the neck through their rocky, unpaved memory lane, they knew quite well that this poison would hold them harshly forever.

The two were silent, despite their memories beating them senseless and the tears rolling down the corners of their eyes.

"I...I m-miss her too..." rasped Sedgepaw shakily, her lip quivering.

Seeing his sister so emotionally unhinged was too much for Ravenkit, and moments later, he broke, pressing his muzzle into the side of Sedgepaw's neck and crying as quietly as he could.

It wasn't long before Sedgepaw wrapped her forelegs in a tight hug around her brother and he felt tears dripping on the back of his neck.

His father's death sent his mother to a bad place with no return address and fate had thrown that package away to help fuel the dumpster fires their lives were. And now both kits, despite being found alone with no foreign feline scent, were being treated with harsh disapproval all around and now Ravenkit was being told that he could see the future but no one had any idea how to control it and he could see how everyone in the Clan was going to die.

Fuck this life.

 _Why me? Why us?_ pleaded Ravenkit to no one in particular.

It certainly wasn't the first time he asked that question, and StarClan knows that it wouldn't be his last.

* * *

A bracken-colored tom sat in the middle of a monochrome clearing in a place beyond natural comprehension. He seemed calm, his eyes level, his shoulders square as he stared ahead through the boring gray.

Well, no. He isn't that kind of tom. He was instead staring intently at a big piece of black twine.

What's the difference, anyway?

The black twine seemed to stretch across the diameter of the great gray. Impressively long, one might say, but the tom wasn't admiring the sheer length of the twine and how the hell it could possibly be stretched this far. Nobody cares about physics here. Nobody cares about physics anywhere, to be honest.

Besides, who would be doing physics calculations when they realized the threads that wound together to make the twine was moving?

Yeah, you read that right. Feel free to re-read the previous sentence to clear any doubt.

Are we good? Okay, we're good.

There was a certain place in the piece of twine where the outside threads were beginning to frill a little bit, and that seemed to be the point of concern for the tom, whose lips were pursed and eyes beginning to betray a bit less calm and a bit more concern. Now that was unusual since for the last 43,186,247,739 times he had looked at this piece of twine (But who's counting?), he had shown little to no concern at all.

This was bad.

But never fear! Mass emotional agony isn't going to happen yet! It's only Chapter 3! So just give it some time and everything should be fine!

See? As I speak and as you read, the twine is beginning to resettle into its original form! Watch in awe as the kinks smooth out and the threads rewind themselves around the other threads! Watch the tom's face relax and let out a sigh of relief!

Well, you can't. won't allow me to put pictures in a chapter, but just take my word on this one! Everyone's happy now!

Well, everyone except the gray tom that's bloodied, beaten up and stomping towards the other in a fit of rage.

"You've royally fucked up this time!" snapped the tom.

The tom rolled his eyes to make himself look annoyed, even though, in truth, he knew he was right. He had screwed up. Bad. Though I can't tell you what exactly he did that was so bad yet. Again, it's only Chapter 3.

"How bad was the damage?" asked the bracken tom, quite reluctantly and quite out of character.

The other tom was speechless. He had just worked his tail off doing atrocities to clean up his mess and he wanted to know how much bad he had to do to help smooth everything out? Outrageous!

(Yeah, I know it sounds stupid right now, but just you wait, explanations come soon. Trust me. But first, obscure character development.)

"Six Rifts!" he shouted, "Six Rifts at the same time! Do you know how many I had to kill to correct that?"

The brown tom did the math in his head. "Between seventy-four and one-hundred-ninety-two?" he ballparked.

He was right. The black tom just had to kill one-hundred-twelve to smooth out these "Rifts" What are rifts? Well, they're something I can't tell you about yet, but they're bad. Trust me. At this point, I'm the only person you can trust right now because I'm writing this story.

"Just...Gorseheart, can you just tell me the next part of your stupid plan doesn't involve the threat of mass destruction," sighed the black tom, who could curse like a sailor but for the life of him couldn't hold a grudge for longer than seven minutes (He'd counted).

Gorseheart was _very_ tempted to lie.

And he did.

"No, Jasper," he said casually, "If all goes well, you won't have to kill anyone en masse until the plan is complete."

Jasper sighed, not completely believing him since he knew better, but all the while praying he was telling the truth. "Well, I need to wash myself off. I don't exactly look pleasant right now."

Gorseheart had some witty reply locked and loaded, but it fizzled out when he realized how bad this lie would rub off if he found out.

Remember when you read the summary and it talked about "cats with unprecedented power?"

Yeah?

What Gorseheart was really planning to do was to attempt to dangerously screw with the laws of time and relativity.

How's that for a cliffhanger?

* * *

 **So.**

 **It's been a while. Here's an explanation.**

 **I was planning to finish this chapter and release it the Saturday before the week of the 4th, but the construction idiots working on the street two blacks away care so little about the wires in our ground that they cut the gas line and the internet landline** ** _at the same time_** **.**

 **Not only did I have to wait for a relight, but I also had no internet to finish the chapter and tell y'all that I was going to Norway for the week. Which was the best vacation ever, by the way.**

 **So many apologies for the delay. Working on Chapter 4 as fast as I can.**

 **You also may have noticed the shift in tone for the last third of the chapter. That's an experiment. I thought it would be interesting since I'm a Jon Jory fan.**

 **Also, if anyone on the staff is perchance reading this story, (First of all, why this story?) please consider allowing a system of putting pictures in chapters. That's just my request.**

 **Read and review, please, like always.**

 **StarClan always,**

 **~Res**


	5. Mind Control

**Chapter 4**

 **Mind Control**

* * *

The next three days were some of the worst of Ravenkit's life.

Training had begun for the Sedgepaw and the other apprentices, and from what he could tell, she was progressing nicely. All of the apprentices were. Good hunting crouches, aware of their surroundings, quick thinkers, even the elders were singing their praises as "the best group of apprentices they had ever seen."

And here he was, looking at Sedgekit catching a mouse a day, feeding an intense rivalry with Duskkit about who was the better hunter and not having to worry about how every one of her Clanmates were going to die from the outside in. Of course, he appreciated Branchfeather and Skypaw's attempts to make him feel better, but they knew quite well there wasn't really any chance for them to make him feel better.

Most of the time, he lay on his stomach near the front of the medicine den, either watching Silverkit and her siblings play mossball and argue about who gets to play the warrior and the bagder or staring at the entrance, waiting for Sedgepaw to return from training. It was a delight to talk to her as always, but they both felt the loss of freedom to talk about anything at all. Sedgekit tried very careful to avoid topics of her training, so the only things they talked about were guessing what their warrior names were going to be or why Duskkit was such a self-absorbed punk (This was mainly Sedgepaw's rant. Ravenkit thought this was hilarious and tried to convince her she totally had a crush on him).

One day, he was watching Silverkit, Leopardkit and Darkkit play a game of mossball when he saw the bal sail over Darkkit's head and land a couple tail-lengths from the den. Reluctantly, he got up and whacked the ball back to them.

At least, that was his intent. He looked down when his paw sliced through air and sighed in annoyance when he saw nothing there.

This had been happening recently. He would see something happen, yet when he went to interact with it, he found that it hadn't happen, thereby being caught in the awkward situation where he would stand in a seemingly random place in the clearing and wait for said event to happen. Sure, it was scary the first couple times, but after it started to happen a couple times a day, it was honestly irritating.

So he stayed still, counted to ten in his head and watched the mossball sail over Darkkit and roll right to his front paws. He saw Silverkit move to retrieve the ball while the other two siblings argued about who would get the point for that round.

"Hey," said Silverkit, her smile fading to concern when he passed the ball without a word, "You feeling alright?"

It took a single look for Silverkit to figure out the answer.

"Do you wanna join in?" she asked, "We could make room for a fourth player." WHen he shook his head no, she pursed her lips and passed the ball to Leopardkit, telling him she was sitting out of a bit.

 _Great_ , thought Ravenkit, _Pouring out my feelings to her is just what I needed._

"I'm fine," he said when she returned. All Silverkit did was roll her eyes.

"You've been like this ever since Sedgepaw became Sedgepaw," she said, "The only cat you talk to is her, you barely eat and when you do leave the medicine den, you stand in random places for no apparent reasons."

"How observant of you," he said sarcastically, "You know the reason why. Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your friend," said Silverkit, making Ravenkit instantly regret snapping back at her, "There's something else going on, is there?"

"No."

"Then why would Mothstar push back your ceremony?"

"Because I can see the future. Are you done with this conversation?"

When he saw Silverkit's wide eyes, he shut his eyes and cursed under his breath.

"Y-You're kidding, right?"

"...no."

There was silence between, only broken by Leopardkit claiming Darkkit cheated and Branchfeather sending Skypaw out to get some more yarrow.

"Do you know how it works?"

Ravenkit sighed. Silverkit wasn't going to leave him alone until her questioned was answered. "No, it's just random."

"So, like, you can see a mossball before it lands?"

"Hypothetically, yes. But it's random, like I said." Ravenkit was getting flustered. He looked around for something that would prove his powers to him.

"Ok, do you see the mossball by the warriors' den?" he said eventually.

"What mossball?"

"Yes! Follow me." he raced to the den entrance and told Silverkit to sit and wait. Sure enough, ten seconds later, Darkkit hit the ball out of Leopardkit's reach and it rolled to Silverkit's paws. Silverkit's face was all he needed to know that he had blown her mind and his body filled with new energy and excitement for the first time in days,

"How did you do that?" she asked after passing the ball back to Darkkit, to which Ravenkit shrugged and said "It's random." for the third time.

"No no, how did you know where the mossball was going to be right after I brought it up?"

Ravenkit thought about it for a minute until his eyes brightened with an epiphany. "Ask me something else," he said quickly.

Silverkit was taken aback for a moment before she started thinking. "Okay, um...Where am I going to stand in the clearing?"

"No, do something else. That's too easy. You'll just stand wherever I pick."

"Good point. Um...how many stalks of yarrow will Skypaw bring back?"

Ravenkit turned to the medicine den and focused, keeping Silverkit's question in the front of her mind. But no matter how hard he focused, no images came to mind. "Nothing," he said, "Might be because I don't know what yarrow looks like."

"Alright, uh...ooh!" Silverkit grinned, "What's the order in which we'll become apprentices?"

Ravenkit grinned before turning to the Highrock. Once again, he focused, but this time, when he blinked, he was in the middle of a crowd of cats. He looked up to see Mothstar frozen in the middle of a speech. Silverkit faced the leader, Darkkit was off to the side, looking quite nervous, and Leopardkit was puffing his chest, grinning broadly at his parents.

Ravenkit could barely contain his excitement when he brought himself out of the vision. "Leopardkit is first, then you, then Darkkit."

"There we go!" said Silverkit, matching his excitement, "You need to think about what you wanna see!"

"Why...didn't I think of that before? I mean, it's obvious when you think about it."

Silverkit shrugged. "So since you seem to be in better spirits, do you want to play mossball?"

"You planned this, didn't you?"

"I'll never tell."

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

The terrified cry made the two kits, as well as everyone else in camp, look to the entrance to see Sedgepaw, followed by Jetstorm and Greenwhisker, race into camp. Immediately, Branchfeather and Mothstar raced from their respective dens to meet the group while the apprentice ran to meet his brother.

"What the hell happened?" he said, never before seeing this much terror in her eyes.

"I-It's Skypaw, she…"

"Ravenkit!" hissed Silverkit, gesturing to the entrance.

Darkstrike and Mothflutter were pushing their way through the gorse tunnel, holding Skypaw on their backs. Branchfeather cried out in horror and ripped her off the warriors' backs, pressing his paws against her chest and throat wounds while ordering various cats to get cobwebs and water.

Ravenkit and Silverkit shared a look of horror. They now knew why he wasn't able to see the yarrow. He raced over to Branchfeather, now barely keeping it together.

"Who did this?" he rasped, tears flying from the corners of his eyes. "Who did this to you?"

Skypaw weakly opened her mouth to respond, but she choked on her own blood before any sound could come out. Moments later, her eyes dulled and head slumped to the side, fixed in a lifeless stare forever.

Skypaw was dead.

Branchfeather's agonized howls of grief seemed to echo through the entire forest. The whole camp stood in petrified silence as the medicine cat ywoled his pain to the stars.

Meanwhile, Ravenkit felt sick. He had used his powers correctly, yet thought nothing of why he couldn't see Skypaw.

He had just received a massive sign that Skypaw was in danger and he didn't even know it.

* * *

 **ATTENTION: First Blood**

 **Hold on to your hats, y'all, cause this is the first of many.**

 **And yes, I'm back. Family issues, unfortunately, and school is starting up soon, so I'll try hard to get the next chapter out soon.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~Res**


	6. Falling Skies

**Chapter 5**

 **Falling Skies**

* * *

Skypaw's vigil was a blur for Ravenkit.

When the shock had died down, Mothstar interrogated all of the apprentices and mentors to try and figure out who was on the list of suspects for who killed Skypaw. When Sedgepaw was let go from his den, she wasn't in the mood for much talking.

"I just have this feeling that I should have known and should have done something," she said before retreating to the apprentice den.

 _If only you knew_ , was all Ravenkit could think.

By sundown, everyone seemed to have calmed down except Branchfeather. He had taken Skypaw's death the hardest, curling up in the corner of the medicine den and crying his heart out. Ravenkit had tried to comfort him, but he just snapped at him to leave him alone. He had even tried to poison himself with hemlock shortly afterward, but Wispsong was luckily around to intervene.

Now everyone circled around the apprentice's dead body, emotions ranging from respectfully bowed heads to quiet sobs.

"She was a great cat to be around," said Amberpaw, blinking away tears, "Always happy, always spunky, always finding ways to make the best of every situation. I...I can't believe she left us so soon."

"She always loved making new friends," said Moonbeam, "I will forever be grateful for the friendship she gave my kits and pray that she makes many more friends in StarClan."

While Greenwhisker and Jetstorm spoke, Ravenkit snuck a glance to Silverkit near the nursery. Her eyes were saddened by the loss, but when she saw how guilty Ravenkit looked, she coughed quietly to get his attention.

"It's not your fault," she mouthed.

Though he nodded, Ravenkit was unsure he could believe her.

It was Branchfeather's turn, and for a moment it looked like he was unable to bring himself to speak, but as Lightfur opened her mouth, he finally cut her off.

"She was like a daughter to me," whispered Branchfeather, "I loved her as my own. I was supposed to protect her and I failed. I failed her," he paused to take a shaky breath, "That is why I will search all the ends of the land to find the son of a bitch who did this to her, rip them apart piece by piece and bring eternal pain upon them for what they have done."

He ignored the fact that everyone was staring at him, got up and walked right out of camp. Wispsong got up to stop him, but Mothstar cut her off. "Let him go," he said, "It's appropriate we give him time to grieve." The ThunderClan deputy opened her mouth to object, but thought better of it and sat back down.

When Mothstar dismissed the elders to bury Skypaw, Ravenkit ran to the nursery to meet with Silverkit.

"I'm serious, it's not your fault," said the she-kit as he walked up.

"But I should have figured it out. It was right in front of me the whole time!"

"And you've known how to control your powers for, what, a couple hours?" she sighed, "Look, I'm serious. Everyone involved think it's their fault, and they're just as wrong as you. If she was murdered, the only cat to blame is the one who killed her. Simple as that."

All of what she said made sense, but the gnawing guilt would not dissipate from the tom-kit's belly. Silverkit was aware of this and sighed. "Look around you. Everyone is feeling how you feel. You don't need to feel so alone."

Ravenkit opened his mouth to say he was alone no matter what because of his ability, but kept his mouth shut and looked around. He saw Lunarpaw getting a bath from her mother and her father, Dawnpaw trying to work herself down to sleep, Amberpaw resting her head against Jetstorm's chest and Sedgepaw holding a quiet conversation with Duskpaw. His eyes widened when he saw Duskpaw rest his tail over her shoulders and her smile for a moment before moving away.

 _An egotistical nuisance indeed!_

"What do you think you're doing, kit?"

Ravenkit felt his fur spike when he heard the icy voice of Duskwhisker behind him. "Don't you have a medicine cat to run off to?"

"We're just talking, mother," said Silverkit casually, allowing Ravenkit to relax a bit.

"I can see that," snapped Duskwhisker, "I'm just trying to figure out why you two are suddenly best friends the same day one of the Clan's best apprentices is murdered in cold blood. Suspicious, eh? Especially since you just happen to "appear" at camp one day."

"Leave him alone, mother," said Silverkit, "This isn't his fault. He had no idea!"

Right away, Duskwhisker let out a snarl, making both kits flinch, and leaned down until she was face to face with her daughter. "You watch your tongue, kit," she growled, "or, believe me, there will be consequences and you will not like them one bit."

With that, she turned tail and strode back into the darkness of the nursery, leaving both kits speechless.

"I'm sorry," said Ravenkit after a moment, "I shouldn't have come over…"

"No no, it's fine," said Silverkit, her shoulders slumping a bit, "It's not your fault. She's always been like this."

"All cats who can catch their own prey meet under the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Mothstar's call caught everyone off guard, and many took a few moments to make sure they weren't hearing things before moving to their usual meeting spot. Ravenkit shared one last confused look with Silverkit before hurrying back to the medicine den to watch.

"Today is a dark day for ThunderClan," said Mothstar, his head bowed, "Losing an apprentice loved by all to an act of heartlessness and evil. Today we grieve and keep her in all our dreams and thoughts, but tomorrow is a new day and while we are upset and angry, we must look to the future and keep our heads held high, for Skypaw would not want us to have her memory to be stained by anger and hatred," he looked up to face his Clan, "She was always one to appreciate the reconciliation of past mistakes, so in her memory, I believe it is time to reconcile one of my own."

He turned to the medicine den and locked eyes with Ravenkit.

"Ravenkit, please come to the Highrock."

Ravenkit was completely caught off-guard and quickly scampered to the base of the great rock. Along the way, he saw cats conversing and whispering, some even casting suspicious glances in his direction.

But when he ascended the Highrock, he looked out to see Sedgepaw sitting up high, her eyes glimmering with pride and happiness. At once, he felt his body fill with happiness and pride as he turned to face his leader.

"Ravenkit, you've already been through a lot, falling into a three-day coma in the days before the ceremony and being forced to hold back your apprenticeship, even though you were obviously ready to go long before now. I can say that of the many mistakes I have made and will make as leader of ThunderClan, this was one of my worst. I hope that one day, you'll forgive me for this error."

Part of Ravenkit was pissed off when he realized Mothstar suspended his apprenticeship for no good reason but he set that aside. He was becoming an apprentice! Finally!

"So I ask the question I should have asked you days ago: Ravenkit, is it your will to leave behind your tumultous past as part of the outside world and begin to pursue the life of a warrior for the rest of your life?"

Ravenkit spoke with no hesitation. "Yes, Mothstar."

"Then by the power of StarClan, until you recieve your warrior name, you shall be known as Ravenpaw. In your training, may StarClan grant you fruitful wisdom, integrity and honor as you pursue the life of a warrior."

As Sedgepaw and Silverkit kickstarted the call of "Ravenpaw," the new apprentice took a deep breath and sighed, feeling a massive weight being lifted off of his shoulders.

"I forgive you," said Ravenpaw as Mothstar looked out in pride.

"Thank you, Ravenpaw." he whispered back.

When the chanting died down, Mothstar looked out for a moment before his eyes lit up in finality.

"Wispsong," he said, looking back to his deputy, "please come forward."

If there was any surprise about her being selected, Wispsong didn't show it, as she nodded respectfully and walked confidently to the Highrock.

"Wispsong, I entrust you in the training of this young apprentice. You are an experienced and trustworthy warrior and I see you as a fantastic role model for this generation of young warriors. Do you agree to pass along all you know to this young apprentice and train him to be the best he can be?"

Wispsong smiled at Ravenpaw before turning back to her leader. "I do."

"Good. I expected nothing less from my deputy," he turned back to Ravenpaw, "Now it's time for you to rest. Your training begins right away tomorrow. This meeting is dismissed."

The warriors dispersed to their dens and Ravenpaw scampered down to meet the other apprentices. Immediately, he tackled by Sedgepaw, covering his face in licks.

"What did I tell you?" she said, "I said you were going to become an apprentice, but did you listen? No!"

"Your point-oof-has been made," said Ravenpaw, shoving his sister off of him and getting to his paws. He was congratulated and welcomed by the three siblings before Wispsong walked up to meet him.

"Glad to see you're getting to know your fellow apprentices. But you need to rest up," she looked out in the direction the forest, "We start at sunrise. I'll take you around the territory and then we're going right into hunting practice," she looked back to her apprentice, "You've got a lot of make-up work to do. You think you're ready to tackle it."

Despite all that had happened, Ravenpaw felt confidence surge through his veins. And damn, did it feel good.

"Yes, Wispsong," said Ravenpaw, sitting up straight.

"That's what I like to hear," said the ThunderClan deputy, smiling, "Now rest up. We have an early morning tomorrow."

"We're coming up on the WindClan border," said Wispsong, squinting against the morning sun just breaking over the horizon. Ravenpaw had woken up before sunrise to find Wispsong just about to leave for an early-morning hunt. She had been pleasantly surprised to find him up and ready so early, so they left to get the tour out of the way.

"They mainly hunt on the plains and catch rabbits, since they have better speed. This means they're harder to catch on foot in battle, so you'll need to be quick on your feet to catch one."

"Maybe you can also force them to run in the direction of the sun," pondered Ravenpaw, "It'l force the enemy to lower their head and it'll make it easier for another cat to attack them from the sides."

"Well done!" praised Wispsong, "It's a good habit to be tactical early. Now let's move on…"

Ravenpaw was idly aware of his mentor's voice fading. He had recieved a vision likely spawned from the thoughts of battle. He saw three cats frozen in conversation. Two of the cats were grinning maliciously while the third was obscured with his back turned.

Ravenpaw almost thought nothing of the vision until he looked down to see blood on the third cat's paws. \

Dried blood.

"Ravenpaw!" Wispsong's voice snapped him back to reality, "What's going on? You looked like a kittypet on a Thunderpath."

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I thought I scented rabbit around here."

It was the first of many lies he would tell him mentor.

"I like your proactiveness," she said, leading him away from the border, "But you need to focus, otherwise you'll be beaten easily. Now let's head to ShadowClan."

Ravenpaw nodded and followed, but the vision remained etched in his mind no matter how hard he tried to push it out.

He had a sneaking suspicion he may have accidentally found Skypaw's killer.

* * *

 **So at this point you might be able to tell I'm making up for lost time.**

 **I thought this would take a while, but it took an hour. Why not upload it now?**

 **Damn, I'm on fire.**

 **As of right now, I'm halfway through Chapter 6, so that'll hopefully be up by the end of the weekend before school (*insert groans and pleas for help here*) starts up again.**

 **Hope you enjoy the second chapter today!**

 **~Res**


	7. The Day That Never Happened

**Chapter 6**

 **The Day That Never** **Happened**

* * *

The mouse stood no chance.

Ravenpaw had spent all day calibrating his powers to help his hunting skills as subtly as he could. For the most part, he was doing well. It took a couple tries to get his form correct, but he was stealthy on his paws. Once, he almost gave away his powers by pouncing way too early, but he had played it off as excitement to get his first catch.

Another issue he had was what he had seen at the WindClan. He was reasonably confident that he had found Skypaw's murderer, but he also didn't know when the meeting was going to take place. It could be happening right now, but he was also aware that it could also be tomorrow or a week from now. He was hoping it wasn't the latter because that would mean that he had pounced on a misdirecting lead, but that someone else was in danger. Either way, the cat was dangerous and he needed to find him as soon as possible.

He caught his mind straying again. He would talk it over with Silverkit when he was finished with training. Right now, he focused on the mouse. He was aware that Wispsong was watching from the tree above.

He kept his mind trained on the mouse he scented and soon was granted with a picture in his mind of his prey skittering from one tree stump to the other. The picture showed it right in the middle, so that's where he would pounce.

He started counting up in his head. Twelve seconds later, the mouse emerged from the shrub and started moving to the next one. Ravenpaw held his breath, waited and pounced.

The timing was impeccable. Ravenpaw had intentionally put a little more in his jump so the mouse would see him and run away in the opposite direction. In the end, it ran right into his unsheathed forepaws. When he landed on the mouse, he latched his muzzle on the neck bone and bit down. Moments later, he heard a satisfying snap and relaxed.

He had caught his first mouse.

"Nice work," said Wispsong, leaping down from the branches, "Now, what do you do after each catch?"

"Oh right!" he bowed his head over the dead mouse. "Thank you, StarClan, for this prey."

"You did good work, Ravenpaw," said Wispsong, smiling proudly as the deputy's apprentice picked up his mouse, "It's nice to see another natural hunter in this group. You really are a talented bunch, you five, and I believe you'll provide nicely for the Clan. All of you."

Ravenpaw's ears flared up in guilt. While he appreciated his mentor's praise, part of him felt like he was cheating. Everything the other apprentices did was natural and up to their own skill and instinct. Here he was, using his crutch of a power he never even asked for and he was getting praise on level with the most gifted generation of apprentices ThunderClan had seen in a long time.

 _What if everyone finds out about my power? What will they think of me then?_

When they arrived at camp, Wispsong gestured to the elders' den before heading to Darkstrike and Lightfur. When he walked in, Waspwhisper's eyes widened and Patchfur stirred from her sleep, pricking her ears.

"Praise StarClan!" said the former, licking her lips, "Another good hunter? Y'all are gonna make us die as fat as badgers!"

As Ravenpaw chuckled, Duskpaw walked in behind him, holding a plump vole. He nodded respectfully at Ravenpaw, set it down by Patchfur and followed him out of the den.

"Nice catch," he said when they left the den, "How hard was it?"

"Not too hard," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, "I mean, compared to what you and Sedgepaw have been catching lately, it's a start, I guess."

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna make a daily competition out of this, too," Duskpaw said, grinning, "I mean, not just because we'll crush you, but we'll chase all of the prey out of the forest within a moon."

"No no," said Ravenpaw, "That's your thing already. I won't impede. Besides," A playful grin crossed his face, "You two seem to be doing just fine by yourselves."

Duskpaw chuckled, shoving him roughly and playfully, before looking back and his smile softening, "That obvious, eh?"

Ravenpaw's eyes widened to the size of hailstones, "Wait, seriously?!"

Duskpaw hesitated, "...possibly."

"Wow, uh...wow."

Pause.

"This is awkward."

"Well, you started it."

Another pause.

"I...should be going. Sedgepaw and I are going to do...things."

Ravenpaw raised an eyebrow. "What kind of things?"

"Uh...apprentice things…?"

"Look," said Ravenpaw, "I'm fine with... _this_ , but…" he fumbled for the right words, "As long as she's happy and safe, we're fine. Those are my only conditions. Deal?"

Duskpaw nodded, grinning. "Deal."

"Now go on and do your... _apprentice things_ , I guess."

Duskpaw raced off, obviously relieved that _that_ conversation was over. Ravenpaw went to the freshkill pile, picked up a mouse and went to find Sedgepaw, who agreed to share.

After a few minutes of eating in serenity, Ravenpaw broke the silence.

"You're a lying liar that lies, you know that?"

"What are you talking about?" said Sedgepaw, not looking up from her mouse.

"You do have a crush on Duskpaw!"

"What?!" Sedgepaw's head bolted up, glanced around the clearing once (probably to confirm Duskpaw was out of hearing range), and hissed. "What are you talking about? Of course I don't."

Ravenpaw only smiled knowingly.

"He...he told you, didn't he?" she said, her hackles deflating.

"It wasn't that hard…"

"That son of a…" she muttered with a grin, "Let's change the subject, shall we?"  
"No no, I'm perfectly fine with this." Ravenpaw grinned playfully, ducking to dodge his sister's ear cuff, "But if you _really_ want to…"

They tried, but eventually gave up and split up, Sedgepaw returning to the den to talk with Duskpaw and his siblings and Ravenpaw sneaking over to Branchfeather.

He was in worse condition than he could have ever predicted, now nothing more than a shriveled mess since his return the previous night. His face was scrunched up and his eyes sported a haunted look of trauma expressing his sanity since Skypaw's death. He would never be the same for sure, but no one ever thought he would come away this horrible.

"Ah, welcome back, Skypaw," he said shakily, "You don't mind handing me the catmint, do you?"

 _Hallucinations, too? Jeez, he really is a mess_.

"Branchfeather?"

"Shhh! Don't be scared, dear," the medicine cat reached out and wrapped himself around him, licking all around, "I'm right here. I'll always protect you. No matter wha-"

"BRANCHFEATHER!" snapped Mothstar from the den entrance, causing his trance to be cut off abruptly and him to fall off of the baffled apprentice.

"What the hell is going on?"

After a couple of moments, Branchfeather only shamefully gestured to some chewed up catmint leaves.

"You...drugged yourself?"

He nodded.

Pain filled the leader's eyes. "Why!? Would Skypaw have wanted this?"

"I...can't go on without her, Mothstar. I...can't…"

He broke down into tears. Mothstar walked over to comfort his friend, not noticing Ravenpaw swing around when he caught a foreign scent near him, though nothing was there.

He sighed. He was losing control of his powers again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to refocus his mind.

He did not, however, expect for the ground to start shaking.

Mothstar looked up in confusion, pausing from sharing tongues with the ThunderClan medicine cat, and looked around. "What was that?"

A growing clamor swelled outside the den, causing Ravenpaw to race outside to meet the informal congregation. "What's going on?" he asked Greenwhisker, who just pointed, his eyes filled with awe and fear.

Ravenpaw whirled around and gasped.

The tree was floating.

 _Floating_.

Crackling noises could be heard from around the camp as the apprentice turned to see the walls of the dens being lifted by an unknown force. Now everyone was freaking out, adding shouts to a fearful cacophony of confusion.

You've probably figured it out by now, but it wasn't long until cats started to float as well.

It started with the kits, some gleefully laughing and shouting while others wailed for their parents in fear. The cats that leaped for them were suspended in air soon being followed by all others, including Ravenpaw.

Ravenpaw looked right at Silverkit, whose eyes were wide with fear. He reached out to her, trying to get by his friend as the ground cracked beneath them and white light from the sky surrounded him blinding all of the other cats as they braced for the fearful moment of whatever came next.

The two cats said nothing, just staring at each other in realized hopelessness as the light overpowered sight and Ravenpaw saw Silverkit being washed away from him for the last time.

Ravenpaw lost focus in the blinding bright light for the final time, allowing himself to be engulfed in the brightness of eternal white.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

The mouse stood no chance.

Ravenpaw had spent all day calibrating his powers to help his hunting skills as subtly as he could. For the most part, he was doing well. It took a couple tries to get his form correct, but he was stealthy on his paws. Once, he almost gave away his powers by pouncing way too early, but he had played it off as excitement to get his first catch.

Another issue he had was what he had seen at the WindClan. He was reasonably confident that he had found Skypaw's murderer, but he also didn't know when the meeting was going to take place. It could be happening right now, but he was also aware that it could also be tomorrow or a week from now. He was hoping it wasn't the latter because that would mean that he had pounced on a misdirecting lead, but that someone else was in danger. Either way, the cat was dangerous and he needed to find him as soon as possible.

He caught his mind straying again. He would talk it over with Silverkit when he was finished with training. Right now, he focused on the mouse. He was aware that Wispsong was watching from the tree above.

He kept his mind trained on the mouse he scented and soon was granted with a picture in his mind of his prey skittering from one tree stump to the other. The picture showed it right in the middle, so that's where he would pounce.

He started counting up in his head. Twelve seconds later, the mouse emerged from the shrub and started moving to the next one. Ravenpaw held his breath, waited and pounced.

The timing was impeccable. Ravenpaw had intentionally put a little more in his jump so the mouse would see him and run away in the opposite direction. In the end, it ran right into his unsheathed forepaws. When he landed on the mouse, he latched his muzzle on the neck bone and bit down. Moments later, he heard a satisfying snap and relaxed.

He had caught his first mouse.

* * *

"I'd be mad about you lying to me, but at this point, I'm expecting you to betray your word at every promise I ask you to make."

Gorseheart sighed. "How did you know?"

"The Tree exists for a reason," said Jasper, "You know, to tell us the well-being of all of the universes and all that shit. The branch was all I needed."

Gorseheart shrugged it off. He was bound to have found out about it sooner or later.

"Why do you do this, Gorseheart?" asked Jasper, "You're given life or death on _everything in existence_ , and you use it to kill trillions at a time for...what? Is this all that you are?"

"Surgery."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I needed to cut away the excess to find just the thing I'm looking for."

Jasper was horrified. "Gorseheart, just how many universes did you cut off?"

"49."

49.

Holy shit.

Jasper was speechless, rightfully so, as Gorseheart meticulously worked his claws through the infamous black twine, reciting words and numbers unheard of to anyone, until he snagged a thread and yanked it out, an image showing immediately of a black cat catching his first mouse and receiving praise from his mentor.

"This better be worth it, you son of a bitch," growled Jasper, still trying to grapple the fact that Gorseheart had nonchalantly ended countless lives without batting an eye, "If he's the one you're looking for, he better be worth it."

Gorseheart smiled.

"You bet he is. In fact, I think this may be the one to save us all."

* * *

 **Yes. I know this chapter is confusing.**

 **But hey, what's a story about a cat with foresight without some science fiction, amirite?**

 **If you're still confused about this chapter, feel free to PM me and I'll let you know what happened. I know this was pretty obscure, so I'll try not to do this in the near future.**

 **Hey, school's back! Why not celebrate with piling more confusion on top of confusion?**

right?

 **Best,**

 **~Res**


End file.
